


Stranded

by CollistaForest



Category: Danny Phantom, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
Genre: Field Trip, Ghost Zone, M/M, Slow Burn, ectoham
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-04-06 21:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CollistaForest/pseuds/CollistaForest
Summary: The students of Norrisville High School have been invited to Casper High to experience ghosts! The Fenton family take this opportunity to make a field trip into the Ghost Zone for any student, Norrisville or Casper High, to go. (aka another Field Trip into the Ghost Zone fic)





	1. Chapter 1

strand·ed

left without the means to move from somewhere.

 

-0-0-0-

 

Danny wanted to slap his parent’s mouth shut, and was immediately discouraged when he realized he wasn’t on the stage with them and wasn’t in ‘Mouth Slapping’ range. Just once, he wanted them to not be total idiots and realize the ideas they have sometimes are stupid and ridiculous. Well, not sometimes, all the time.

 

Some freshmen from Casper High’s out-of-state rival school, Norrisville High, had paid for the trip to come to Amity Park and experience ghosts in a city they were comfortable in. The ghosts, that is. Not the students.

 

Of course the students and staff of Norrisville High accepted the offer, who wouldn’t like to know about the creatures other cities face. A few students had gushed over their town’s monsters and creatures and their very own hero, the Ninja. A few residents of Amity Park were sceptical of the fact the hero of Norrisville was over 800 years old, but then they remembered their own hero, a literal ghost, and got over the concept of the Ninja quickly.

 

That was yesterday’s talk, now there was something else spreading like wildfire through the halls of Amity Park.

 

The Fenton family were ready and willing to have the students of Norrisville on an educational trip to the Ghost Zone. 

 

That is, of course, why Danny wanted to wring their necks at this precise moment. Despite the fact that his parents had never laid a single  _ toe  _ in the Ghost Zone, they had decided to bring a group of irresponsible teenagers into a place where they could easily be killed or lost? Nope, that didn’t settle right with him.

 

A small announcement over the intercom systems of the school rang and let all the freshmen, Casper High or otherwise, into the meeting. Danny was only slightly livid as he walked into the auditorium with Sam and Tucker.

 

He was also minorly upset that they had hosted this small trip invite during the fourth bell of the school day. Sure, it was an easy time to have the Norrisville students meet up, but it was also in the middle of his favorite class: Physics, surprisingly.

 

Danny, Tucker and Sam sat behind two freshmen from Norrisville High, on tall, lanky and purple haired, while the other was short, ginger hair barely popping up from the top of the theater chairs. Danny couldn’t help but pay a bit of attention while the two in front of him were muttering during the entire presentation his parents were putting on, his senses were just a bit too sharp to ignore their talking.

 

Speaking of, even from the seat behind, Danny could smell the stench of cheese and stale chips hanging off of they two boys. He was concerned for their sanitary and their personal lives.

 

“Don’t you even think of NNS-ing me while we’re in this weirdo town! Even if we do have a field trip inside of a field trip, you are still  _ not  _ going to NNS me, got it?” The shorter one said, pointing a finger in the other’s chest and only just barely whisper-shouting.

 

Danny could figure NNS was supposed to be an acronym for something. Though what for, he wouldn’t dare try to guess. The people from Norrisville come up with and weird and crazy lingo, even worse than the Fruitloop’s weird censored cursing.

 

“I promise, man, no NNS-ing while we’re on this little vacay.” The taller responded, also having no real concept of whispering.

 

A teacher, Mr. Lancer came from the sides of the stairs leading up to the stage to tap the two from Norrisville on the shoulders, promptly telling them to shut up. With a weird salute, the taller confirmed that there would be no more talking for the rest of the announcement. 

 

Danny could hear Mr. Lancer walk away with a scoff and muttering something beneath his breath along the lines of,  _ “Now if any of the children we’re actually afraid of me here, then they would listen.” _

 

He gave a slight chuckle at that, no one would listen to him anyways.

 

Sam brought his attention back to his parents when she groaned.

 

“What are they  _ thinking?! _ ” Sam whispered, rubbing her hands over her eyes, promptly messing up the eyeliner she put on during breakfast with a little help from her grandma.

 

“I know. Not only have they never set foot in the Ghost Zone, but they are inviting teenagers from another town to the Ghost Zone,  _ where they have never gone to. _ ” Danny, frankly, wanted to scream. His parents could be idiots sometimes, but this may be reaching a new goal.

 

"Tomorrow, both Norrisville and Capser high freshmen will all get to travel to the realm where ghosts reside!" Jack Fenton, as loudly as he could, yelled his speech all across the auditorium even if there was no need to. The auditorium itself was small and there were even a pair of microphones set up on the podium he was at. Maddie, his wife, leaned into one of the microphones, silencing her husband for just one second.

 

"All we need is a small payment of $36, think if it as a fee."

 

As the words came out of her mouth, a calamity of noise arose from the student body. Some were groaning while others starting trifling the rough their own wallets, looking to see if they had enough money saved up from the Christmas past to pay for the trip right now.

 

Danny watched as the shorter boy in front of him elbowed his friend once money was spoken of. The taller, lankier teen rolled his eyes and dug through his pockets to find his wallet.

 

"Mom only left me with $45, and unless you have seven dollars on you, I guess you're not coming along."

 

"Oh, come on Cunningham! Of course I have 26 dollars on me!" The shorter one scoffed, pulling out his barely-used wallet and opened it up, revealing one measly 10 dollar bill.

 

"Or, maybe I don't."

 

He knew he had a small problem with helping people, it was a small obsession of his. Quickly, Danny intagiablly grabbed his wallet through his backpack, pulling out two fives and six singles.

 

"Here," Danny passed the money forward to the purple-haired teen, finding him just a tad bit more responsible than the other, and smiled. "I can spot the change, I have to go no matter what, so its no big deal."

 

"Whoa, that's so bruce! Thanks!" The shorter turned around in his chair to face the three, a wide grin stuck on his face. "Now I can go see those weird ghosts!"

 

"Never thought I'd say this, but ghosts are a nice change from mechanical apes and stanked monsters."

 

"I'm Howard Weinerman, and that's Randy Cunningham. We mostly came just so we could see some ghosts." Howard leaned back, pushing against the chair.

 

"I'm Tucker Foley, nice to see you came for our town's main attraction." Tucker gave a small laugh before turning to his two best friends. "This is Sam Manson, Ultra Recyclo Vegetarian and all things Goth extraordinaire. And this is Danny Fenton, the son of those two up on stage."

 

For a second, Randy and Howard turned around to take another good look at the two presenters, even if they had been staring at the two the entire time for the past half hour. Both of the Fenton parents were trying to hush the crowd again sot hey could finish their speech and hand out forms.

 

The two Norrisville residents turned to crook a questioning eyebrow at Danny, who only appeared sheepish and shrugged. The two looked at eachother before facing front as a calmer quiet settled through the auditorium.

 

Not too soon after, Maddie began to pass out permission slips with a little envelope at the bottom where money or a check could be slotted in. She explained that the Norrisville students whose parents didn't come along to Amity Park could have their chaperone teacher fill it out under the approval of the student's parent.

 

Everyone grabbed an envelope, then ran out if the auditorium, eager to have it filled out. Though, most of them would forget about it the moment they got home.

 

-0-0-0-

 

Anyone who looked could tell Randy Cunningham was  _ so ready  _ for this kind of field trip. They were outside of Norrisville, out of the Sorcerer's reach, so that meant no stankings no matter How depressed someone was. Then, there was a new type of villain here, ghosts, which he wasn't responsible for hunting and taking down; there were already ghost hunters here!

 

This might be the only field trip Randy has ever had that he could fully relax on. Sure, there would be monsters that might spoil a good time, but there were already hunters here for that. Here, in Amity Park, there was no need for the ninja.

 

In his lap, Randy could feel the Ninja Nomicon vibrate happily. If there wasn’t any need for the Ninja, there were no need for ridiculous encrypted life lessons. And, frankly, the Nomicon was tired of having to wait half an hour for a freshman to finally figure out what they were trying to say.

 

With the money split, Randy kept hold of both his and Howard’s envelopes and shoved them in his bag. Not that he didn’t think Howard was responsible enough to keep track of his envelope, it’s just… Yeah, he didn’t think Howard was responsible enough. His friend could lose the keys to his own home, then ask Randy to “Ninja himself” into his house and unlock the front door.

 

He didn’t need to. Howard’s parents gave him an extra key that he kept on a lanyard with his own house keys.

 

It wasn’t too long before everyone else had filed out of the room, including the three kids who had sat behind them during the meeting. Howard and Randy had a sort of need to stick behind after every event. Mostly, it was to keep out of the hearing range of everybody else so the two could talk about confidential Ninja business.

 

“Oh man, this is going to be so epic! We get to go to a world full of ghosts! This might be the brucest field trip we’ve ever been on yet!” Howard, as excitable as he is, jumped into the air and practically yelled.

 

Randy rolled his eyes and couldn’t help to grin at his friend. Howard has always been excited for every field trip they’ve ever been on. Any chance to skip school had a golden star in Howard’s book.

 

“Even better, there won’t be any need for the Ninja apparently! They have their own ghost fighters!” Howard started walking back to the auditorium doors, flailing his arms around as he spoke. “You know what that means, Cunningham!”

 

Planting his foot, Howard turned suddenly, pointing a finger directly in the middle of Randy’s chest, even if he had to stretch up a little bit to  _ reach  _ Randy’s chest.

 

“No NNS during the trip?”

 

“No NNS during the trip!”

 

-0-0-0-

 

“I don’t know, Danny. The two of them seemed kind of weird; weirder than the rest of the Norrisville students that came over yesterday.”

 

Danny prevented himself at scoffing at his friend.

 

“Oh, come on Tucker.” Sam reached behind Danny to slap Tucker on his arm, smiling as the tech-freak yelped. “I think the two of them are fine, they have the same amount of weirdness that everyone else in Norrisville has, they’re not too different from the rest.”

 

“See Tucker? Sam agrees with me on this.”

 

“Sam agrees with you on everything.”

 

“Not the point.” Danny, in the middle of the two, lead them to the cafeteria. As he swung the doors open, there were only five others in the cafeteria, including the lunch lady. It was the middle of spring, most people would want to be out in the sun after the cold winter they just had.

 

And Undergrowth had only attacked last week, leaving beautiful plants and flowers in his wake. People have been making gorgeous flower crowns all week.

 

“They might be a little weird, sure, but I still think it would be a good idea to befriend them.” Sam chose the lunch table, seating near the corner and right next to an exit. “They might be able to tell us more about the Norrisville Ninja if we talk with them some more.”

 

“And any information is good information.” Grinning, Danny pulled out his Fenton Lunchbox, copyright claimed by his parents. All edibles inside are “proven” to be safe from any and all ectoplasmic infestation.

 

In other words, it’s got a zipper.

 

Danny started to eat his small lunch as his two friends continued talking, debating on if they should become friends with Randy and Howard. Danny thought the solution was easy, if he got some basic info of the Ninja of Norrisville from the two, then he would be better prepared in a fight against the Ninja, or be able to formulate strategies so he could work together with him.

 

Oh, who was he kidding. He wasn’t the one who formulates battle strategies, that would be Sam and Tucker.

 

In all honesty, he was a bit nervous for the upcoming mini field trip his parents were hosting. He knows they are ill prepared to host a trip like this,  _ they have never been to the ghost zone before.  _ Though, this could be a good opportunity for his parents to learn that not all ghosts are bad, some just want to be left alone and drift in the endless void of nothingness that is the Ghost Zone.

 

He also wants to go back for a little bit for his own personal wants. Danny has been meaning to return to The Far Frozen and thank the ghost-yetis for helping him unlock his ice core. Though, with that unlocked, his skin has been freezing cold and he’s been accidentally freezing drinks after holding them for less than a few minutes.

 

Danny kinda wants to train his ice core with the Yetis of the Far frozen just so he’ll stop freezing everything he tries to drink. It started getting irritating after the third frozen glass of apple juice.

 

Lunch ended a few minutes later, sending the students the fifth bell. From then on, school ended smoothly, what with not having any run ins with any A-Lister who would want to bite their heads off.

 

Once Sam, Danny and Tucker found themselves in a place where they couldn’t be seen, namely behind the school, Danny transformed. White rings spread from the middle of his body, one trailing upwards while the other sank to the ground, leaving behind resident ghost-boy hero, Danny Phantom.

 

Both of his friends latched onto one of his arms as he went intangible, forcing them to become intangible as well. Then, with barely any warning, Danny flew upwards at high speeds, coming to a slow stop near the bottom of the clouds.

 

“I keep forgetting how nice the view is from up here.” Tucker had to let go with one hand in order to push up his glasses before they fell 6,500 feet to the ground below.

 

“It’s even prettier at night.” Danny quipped.

 

“You’ll have to take us flying sometime at night,” Softly, sam spoke, tightening her grip a little as she looked to the ground below. “I want to know first hand how beautiful it all is, past the light pollution.”

 

“Soon, maybe. If I can get my grades up by the end of the quarter.” With that small joke, he let the three of them go into a minor freefall. With the wind ruffling their hair, Tucker almost yelled when his baret almost flew off of his head. He held it down for the rest of the flight, holding it even as Danny finally went through his roof, right into his bedroom.

 

Danny dropped his friends off onto his bed, deciding to float cross legged in the middle of his room, even as he transformed back into Danny Fenton.

 

After, the three friends talked about their homework, the field trip tomorrow, how to prevent Danny from spilling his secret to two classes of freshmen. They talked and talked and talked until Tucker and Sam had to leave.

 

Following dinner, Danny made a break for his room, wanting to get in as much sleep as he could before the inevitable headache of tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing he heard when he woke was the chattering of students and soft echoes of metallic clanging from the basement. Danny let the noise register in his head as " _ There are people here _ " as his brain was still trying to wake up.

 

Red digital numbers showed the time to be 7:44 am. It was Wednesday and school always starts at 7:45 am.

 

Danny's mind went into a frenzy as he flew out of bed, literally. Going intangible, his clothes slid off within seconds and fresh attire replaced it. 

 

He stopped short for just a moment. Of course, with the field trip, everyone who would be going would already be downstairs, which would explain the noise. Since he didn't need to  _ fly  _ to school, he relaxed for a second, slowing down.

 

The room never felt different to him, with his ice core freezing his veins more and more with every passing day. That is why it took a moment for him to realize his bedroom was slightly colder than it was supposed to be.

 

A frost laced the ceiling, spreading to the walls and covering the window. It wasn't bad, not in the slightest. If he placed his hand on it, the frost would melt away in less than a second. And, well, not there was a hand-shaped print in his wall. Hopefully, the ice was latent and would melt away soon.

 

It wouldn't be good if someone touched his arm, or any part of him, while his ice core was as uncontrollable as it is now. The repercussions of accidentally freezing a classmate wouldn't be good in the slightest.

 

So, just in case, Danny snatched a light jacket from his closet, one black with green linings and hoodie string and a small cartoon ghost over the left breast. It was one of his favorites, the little ghost was adorable and "Not at all revealing" according to Sam.

 

Closing his door behind him, Danny walked past Jazz's door to the stairs. At the bottom, he could see Sam and Tucker engaged in a quiet conversation. Taking two steps down, Danny saw that most of the others going on the field trip were loitering around his living room, either sitting in chairs or walking around, poking at the gadgets on displays.

 

Before Danny could tell them to stop poking at one of the small machines that was supposed to destroy all ghosts within a two kilometer range if activated, Sam grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down two stairs.

 

"Have you been sleeping this entire time?" Sam hissed under her breath, letting go of his collar then straightening out his shirt.

 

"Yeah, just woke up." Brushing her hands off, Danny walked down past his friends, stepping on the landing.

 

"It's ironic that you're the last one here, Danny," Tucker snorted. "It is your house."

 

"Oh, shut up Tuck. I finally got some rest last night for the first time in a while, can you blame me?"

 

"No, I'm happy that you got some rest last night, its been awhile since a good quiet night." Tucker noted.

 

"I'm just glad it came last night," Sam scoffed, pointing at Maddie and Jack Fenton who were trailing up the stairs from the lab. "Now you're well rested to deal with them for the field trip into the ghost zone that is supposed to last all day."

 

Danny took on look at his parents before walking behind his two friends again, resting his forehead on both of their shoulders.

 

"No," he said," I dont think I could ever rested enough to deal with them."

 

The trio watched the two adults poke their heads out of the kitchen, making sure everyone was accounted for. Jack stepped into the room, taking a visibly large breath.

 

"Everyone! We are now ready to take attendance! If we could have everyone’s attention.” Maddie raised her voice, preventing her husband from yelling with a small hand to his chest.

 

Anyone who wasn’t paying attention to the two before gave them their full attention now. Everyone watched as Maddie Fenton pulled out a clipboard from  _ somewhere  _ in her jumpsuit. She cleared her throat, adjusted her red-tinted goggles, and read the names off of the list.

 

“Julian Baker?”

 

“H-Here.”

 

“Dash Baxter?”

 

“Here.”

 

“Stevens Boyd?”

 

The sound of a trombone replaced the sound of a trombone, starting with a high pitch and sliding down.

 

“I’m taking that as a yes… Dale Bullock?”

 

“Here, Ma’am.” An African-American football player Danny has seen around Dash before spoke up from the couch. Danny didn’t know his name before now, he’s just seen the football player around with his tormentor.

 

“Randy Cunningham?”

 

“I’m here, Mrs. Fenton.” Randy, one of the two Danny and his friends have been debating being friends with. At least now he knew Randy was at least a little bit responsible and respectful of others. Hearing someone speak formalities to others really helps to base an idea of how good of a person they are.

 

“Rachel DeLise?”

 

“I’m here!” A girl in the corner, next to Stevens, spoke with a lisp. Danny had heard others from Norrisville call her “Flute Girl” because she carries around a flute everywhere she goes. From his spot on the stairs, he could see a few others from Norrisville High, watching as their eyes sparked with surprise…

 

So no one actually knew her name?

 

“Danny Fen… Oh that’s my son.” Maddie looked up from the clipboard for two seconds, finding and maintaining eye contact with her son for three seconds before going back to the list.

 

“Tucker Foley?”

 

“Yo.” Tucker raised his hand in a mock wave to his friend’s mother. Danny elbowed him in the stomach.

 

“Good morning, Tucker.” Maddie smiled, “Theresa Fowler?”

 

“Present!”

 

“Valerie Grey?” Of course. Danny tried to prevent himself from rolling his eyes. Valerie would not ever give up the chance to see the Ghost Zone, a place where she could easily maim thousands of ghosts just because they looked at her funny.

 

On the step below, he could feel both Sam and Tucker tense. They disliked Valerie more than Danny, which made sense. She was always trying to kill their best friend, who wouldn’t be angry about that?

 

“Here.” Came Valerie’s muted response. Resting upon a wall, the ghost huntress was picking at the seams on her backpack, keeping it in her view at all times.

 

“Bash Johnson?”

 

“Haha! That’s me!” A jock-looking student from Norrisville exclaimed, borderline punching the people next to him when his name was announced. 

 

Danny watched him for a few moments before realizing that yes, Bash Johnson  _ is  _ just that dumb.

 

“Okay.. Debbie Kang?”

 

“Here.”

 

“Sam Manson? Oh, wait, I saw you walk in earlier. How about… Bucky Menville?”

 

“I’m here.” The response was choppy, the kid’s voice was probably still breaking. Puberty sucks.

 

“Mikey… umm.. O’Shaonessie?”

 

“It’s pronounced O'Shaughnessey…” Mikey, the red headed nerd every jock liked to pick on, spoke up from his seat next to Valerie. She would scoot away every time he inched closer to her, it was pitiful to watch.

 

“Paulina Sanchez?”

 

“I’m here!” The beautiful tan teen yelled from her spot in between all of the jocks, exuding excitement.

 

“Right, Kwan Sie?”

 

“Oh, I’m here!”

 

“Star Strong?”

 

“Present!”

 

“And finally, Howard Weinerman?"

 

"Here." Looking over, Danny saw Randy's friend call out lazily, like he wasn't fully commuted or not fully awake. With how dull his eyes looked and the slumped position he was in on the couch, Danny would bet pocket change that he was not fully awake.

 

"Great! Since everyone is here we can all go down to the lab!" Jack Fenton yelled, waving everybody along as he ran through the kitchen and down concrete stairs.

 

His wife rolled her eyes and followed.

 

No one in the living room moved to follow. That is until Danny, hunched over with his two best friends at his side, broke the silence with a small chuckle and started walking to the lab stairs.

 

Randy and Howard caught up quickly, with the taller running up to Danny's side while Howard stood a few steps behind, engaging Tucker and Sam in small talk.

 

"So those are your parents?" Randy started, taking the first step of the stairs.

 

"Yep, in all of their mad-scientist glory." 

 

"You're sort of… normal compared to them." Randy noted.

 

"Pfft, I wouldnt say  _ that. _ " Smiling, Danny lead the way to the Spectre Speeder,  _ Now in Bus Size _ , and continued. "I'm just not as loud as them."

 

The general attention of the group was drawn by Maddie, who opened the doors of the bus and stood in they way to keep them open.

 

"Now, if everyone could take a seat. I will have to collect the permission slips before you enter the bus." There were some groans from the group, some people immediately shuffling through their bags to find the signed slip.

 

Danny got on first, not needing a slip in the first place. Sam and Tucker filled in the seat next to him, while, within a few minutes, Randy and Howard took the seat behind them. A girl, Debbie Kang from Norrisville, took the third empty seat next to Randy and Howard. Howard visibly scooted away while Randy shuffled a little bit closer to her.

 

The split second Danny stopped paying attention to them and turned to talk to Tucker, Debbie threw herself over the seat, small microphone in hand, and started talking quickly.

 

"There have been rumors of ghosts in this town-"

 

"'Rumors' imply that they're fake." Tucker cut her off with a mutter.

 

"Shush." She turned to Danny. 

 

"Your parents are famous ghost hunters in this town. Can you tell NHGTTWDPC Online Edition what it's like growing up with ghosts?"

 

"The… what?"

 

"NHGTTWDPC, Norrisville High Gazette Times Tribune Weekly Daily Press Chronicle, Online Edition. Now, could you answer the questions?" She looked intense, her eyes bulging.

 

"Uuuuuhhhhhhhhhh." Danny looked back and forth between his two friends. Tucker looked like he doesn't care, while Sam just shook her head 'No'.

 

"I don't-"

 

"Now, if I can have everyone settle down into their seats." Maddie announced from the front of the bus, looking pointedly at Debbie before the teen fell back into her seat, putting the small microphone back into her bag.

 

Danny let the situation bounce around in his head, drowning out any words that came from his mother. The more he sat there and stared at the portal ahead, the more he realized how much he did  _ not  _ want this to happen. Anything had a chance of happening in the Ghost Zone, and while he wasn't exactly powerless to stop it, unless he wanted to reveal his secrets to his classmates and a whole group of strangers, he was going to have to deal with any conflict in a purely human way.

 

Hopefully, the trip wouldn't be lasting  _ too long. _ It'd be amazing if they only traveled for five minutes before turning back around and leaving, going right back home.  _ Trip's over, have a good day and don't come back! _

 

He felt a small spike of nerves when his father opened the doors, every other student besides the three in the front oohing and ahhing, shifting around while trying to get a better look at the mass of swirling green in a hexagonal steel frame.

 

Danny shifted in his seat, feeling both Sam and Tucker holding on to one of his arms, right over the bumps and the hair that is standing straight up on his arms. They try to calm him as the Spectre Speeder Bus starts rolling towards the portal, telling him to take deep breaths he doesn't need or not to worry,  _ everything will be fine, there's nothing to worry about. The Spectre Speeder has ghost defenses on, we'll be fine. _

 

He didn't really believe that at all when they passed through the green portal, filling his veins with the ghostly energy they crave.


	3. Chapter 3

Almost immediately, there were people who were amazed by the sight of the endless swirling abyss that was the Ghost Zone. People were pointing out the windows, shoving their fingers on the glass of the bus in the direction of floating purple doors.

 

At awe of everything around them, the others barely notice a certain Phantom sit up a little bit straighter, eyes just a little bit brighter and movements just a tad bit more energized.

 

Like every ghost in the Ghost Zone knows, the easiest way to replenish energy is by taking a few laps through the Zone's endless supply of ectoplasmic nothingness. It gets your energy up in no time flat, though it will leave you a bit dizzy if you bite off a bit more than you can chew.

 

That is how the creatures like the Ghost Octopi and the others are created. Unfortunately, they were not previously dead octopus, but are instead animated creatures created by the ectoplasm in the Ghost Zone. They were different in every way than the previously-alive. The ones who died instead of being created had abilities, powers if you will.

 

Danny Fenton, a boy who didnt notice his school counselor was a ghost, didn't notice a few of the Ghost Octopi brush up against the side of the Spectre Speeder, taking the ectoplasmic fuel bit by bit.

 

He was too busy talking to the cute, slightly taller boy from Norrisville in the seat right behind him.

 

"So you  _ haven't _ heard of the Grave Puncher series before?" Randy asked, practically draped over the seat in front of himself.

 

"Can't say I have." Danny responded, sitting backwards in his seat to face him.

 

Sam, uninterested by the prospect of video games, took to talking to Theresa Fowler, discussing more than what either of them actually cared about.

 

Tucker took to explaining the Ghost Zone to Howard, or was at least trying to. Howard kept getting distracted by the video game talk or was completely confused on every single word that came out of the Techno-geek's mouth. Tucker wanted to give up, but he desperately wanted to try and get  _ something  _ through Howard's thick skull.

 

"Dude, we desperately need to get you a copy when we get back. It's only Wednesday, so I'm sure we can get through at least the first two games before I have to go back home." 

 

"Oh, sure. I… I think I'd like that." Danny almost slapped his face. Why did he have to word it like that? It's not as if Randy was saying they would live the rest of their lives together, there was no need to phrase what he wanted to say something like that. None.

 

Yet, the light heat on his face made him feel as if he was a courted schoolgirl. Ugh.

 

"Nice, when do you-" A sudden rocking of the bus threw everyone off of their conversations. A few screams shredded the air as the creatures slammed up against the sides, sucking out the power the Spectre Speeder ran on.

 

"Danny! This is bad!" Sam was squished against a window, barely able to move with her two friends practically on top of her hip.

 

"I know," He took one look out the window and was absolutely positive this entire situation was bad. The swarm of the ghost creatures prevented anyone from seeing the outside and nothing was being done to try and drive them away. His parents were too preoccupied in trying not to get a concussion to actually turn on any of the defense they created for a situation like this.

 

"I just need one moment." Danny turned invisible before either of his friends could say anything about it. He floated up and had to prevent himself from snickering when Tucker landed on top of Sam. Without hesitation, he flicked a few switches on the dashboard and pressed a big red button labeled "Execute".

 

The hundreds of weapons folded out of the side of the bus, taking seconds to lock onto the swarming ghosts and fire.

 

Thankfully, the ghosts dispersed, letting Danny move back to his seat quietly and become visible again. Sam tried to smack him, he just turned intangible.

 

Hearing Randy groan in the seat behind him threw some minor red alarms in his mind. With a quick check, however, Randy was fine. He just bumped his head on the ceiling.

 

Unfortunately, all the shooting at the ghosts really drained the ectoplasmic energy of the Spectre Speeder.

 

There were only seconds before the entire bus lurched, throwing everyone forward in their seats, and started falling downward. The endless green rushed past the windows, hearts dropped to stomachs or leaped up into throats. Everyone could feel the free fall as they all started barrelling to the endless nothingness below.

 

The last thoughts in Danny's head before they crashed onto  _ something  _ was: " _ I'm about to die for the second time. _ "

 

-0-0-0-

 

Sadly, Danny didn't actually die for a second time, which he would have loved to do at this moment. He was trapped under the burning hunk of metal that was previously the Spectre Speeder.

 

He found the green flames a little odd, though with it being burning ectoplasm, it made a tiny bit of sense.

 

Lifting up the scorching metal, Danny slid from underneath and quickly dropped it again. Super-strength does come in handy in some situations.

 

Looking around, no one looked drastically hurt, little scratches here and there, maybe some fractured bones, a few bruised ribs. No one else was stuck under the burning hunk of bus that was for sure.

 

From a crouched position in between his best friends who were still knocked unconscious, someone groaned a little ways away. He wasn't expecting anyone to wake up anytime soon, the crash itself should out them out for at least another half hour, but that wasn't including what could happen to their bodies if exposed to the properties of the Ghost Zone for too long.

 

Danny glanced over, watching Randy Cunningham sit up, glowing bright green under the light of the burning ectoplasm.

 

Harsh light always did wonders accentuating the little features no one would have stopped to notice before. Sharp cheekbones, fluffy hair, an arm bending the wrong way…

 

Oh shit, that's not normal.

 

Danny stood, slipping slightly on the cold rock of Johnny 13's bike trail, and ran to where his new friend was glaring at the flames.

 

"Randy," Danny knelt the second he got to Randy's side. "Are you okay?"

 

Randy didn't move his head, only muttering a slight "yeah."

 

"I find that hard to believe, I don't think your arm is supposed to bend that way."

 

"My arm?" Randy turned his head, staring right into Danny's eyes before looking down to his arm, half of his forearm was bending the wrong way, especially because it wasn't supposed to bend at all. "Huh, maybe that's why it feels numb."

 

Danny let himself chuckle a bit at that. Good to know even when Randy's hurt, he still tries to play it off as a joke.

 

Randy takes a second to look around, looking at everyone who was tossed out of the bus as it crashed. He saw Howard, who didn't have any terrible injuries, though there was a small cut on his forehead.

 

"Is everyone else alright?" Randy asked.

 

"For now, everyone's good. Even though it might be a little while longer until they wake up, they're fine." Danny sat, though keeping a little distance in respect for the broken arm laying uselessly at his friend's side.

 

"That's nice to know. I'm glad we didn't die on impact, that would be wonk."

 

"Wonk indeed." Danny smirked.


End file.
